The "White Knight" comes home - BNW Fiat Linea 1.3 MJD Emotion

This is a discussion on The "White Knight" comes home - BNW Fiat Linea 1.3 MJD Emotion within Long-Term Ownership Reviews, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; Originally Posted by S.MJet
Congratulations Sommos!
Its definitely a great decision. No other car in segment can beat this beauty ...

Its definitely a great decision. No other car in segment can beat this beauty in handling & high speed road manners it offers.
And yes, the more miles you crunch, 1.3 MJD will get better & better.

Enjoy your drive

Thanks, S.MJet. It really feels very good to get such support from others.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Congrats on the Linea. Linea with the improved features from the Tjet makes it a compelling buy in the segment. The 1.3 MJD is frugal and quite driveable in the city. Its definitely not a rocket, but very driveable.

More power is enough for a bhpian, how I wish the 1.6 MJD is lauched rightaway.

Thanks, nkrishnap. It is basically a highway vehicle with superb handling and ride quality and high speed dynamics. The true character of the car comes out there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PranavDesai

Congratulations Sommos on acquiring your Italian beauty. May you safely drive a million miles with it. Some cars are just beautiful, some are muscular, but this one looks both together. The Italians sure know something when it comes to designing. My neighbor has a Tuscan Wine Linea and I envy him everyday! Does Linea have reverse parking sensors or one has to install them afterwards?

Sommos, I must admit, I love the sheer GUTS that you possess. Buying a Fiat in today's age is nothing short of bravery. And I really wish I had that Guts. I hope she gives miles & miles of troublefree service. How is the Fiat A.S.S in Bhilai? I presume that this model has automatic headlamps & wipers,right?
Regards
Varun

Varun, please don't scare me. The car is very good, there is no doubt about that. The main repellant is the A.S.S. in case of Fiat. I have discussed with four individuals who have certified the quality of A.S.S. at Bhilai. Moreover there are two more dealers within a range of 30KM at Raipur.

Yes this model has the auto headlamps and rain sensing wipers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aks_karthik

Congrats for your latest acquisition & Worthy buy.
Any time Linea is beautiful in any angle and VFM.
My Silver Streak Linea is running 50K kms steadily and I enjoy the car at the most.
Enjoy and Drive Safe

Thanks Karthik. Only a fellow Fiatian can understand this special bond.

I have just completed the first month with the new car. I have just crossed 1100 KM in this period which is fully city driving. The registration of my car is still pending with the RTO - things are different here from the metros. I was intimated the number by the dealer only two days back but I have (as on date) not received the papers. This is the reason that I cannot take the car out on the highway. During this one month I have used the car for daily commuting to the office and some shopping etc. for the family. Very eargerly waiting for the RTO papers and the Smartcard so that I can take the car for a drive in the highway.

I have driven the car many times at 80 KMPH but beyond that the car feels bit heavy. In fact I rarely got the proper road condition to push it from there but I still feel that the car feels heavy beyond that. As for the mileage, the MID shows 16.51 KMPL and the same is 15.XX as per tankful to tankful method.

I faced the first niggle of the car in the meantime. After almost 15 days of ownership, I had the first tankful and there was leakage from the fuel tank. Every day in the morning when I take my car out of the garage, I could see diesel lying on the floor. First day the SA told me that the fuel guage was not fixed properly and they have tightened the same. This was done casually within half an hour and without any jobcard etc. The problem ciontinued so the next day I took the car again to the TASS. This time they retained the car for four hours, prepared a job card and informed me that they have changed the gasket for the fuel guage under the rear seat. The leakage stopped thereafter but I thought maybe the fuel level going down may also have some role to play, so I did not close the complain then and there. I had another tankful recently but the leakage is not there anymore. I should say that I'm satisfied with the job but only wish that TASS could have solved the problem at the first instance.

Don't worry you have made a good decision. Don't get scared over comments like "Buying a FIAT is no short of bravery" . This is an extremely capable car , relatively trouble free, the spares come cheap and extreme good looker. All that you need to do is drive sensibly as it is meant to be driven. Regular servicing with recommended spares and oil and this car will not give you trouble at all.

I'm surprised that Linea is so underrated in the market. I've booked one myself and waiting for it to be delivered. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered the wide breadth of talents that the Linea possesses. I am sure you will have lots of happy miles with the car and put its talents to good use

Hey Sommos,
Don't worry you have made a good decision. Don't get scared over comments like "Buying a FIAT is no short of bravery" . This is an extremely capable car , relatively trouble free, the spares come cheap and extreme good looker. All that you need to do is drive sensibly as it is meant to be driven. Regular servicing with recommended spares and oil and this car will not give you trouble at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by octane_100

Congratulations Sommos, a fantastic buy!
I'm surprised that Linea is so underrated in the market. I've booked one myself and waiting for it to be delivered. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered the wide breadth of talents that the Linea possesses. I am sure you will have lots of happy miles with the car and put its talents to good use

Thanks Vikrant and Octane_100, I really hope so.
I too was really confused between Linea and Vento, but lastly decided in favour of the Linea against many criticism from friends. Till now I'm very satisfied with the car and hope it gives trouble free service for a long time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvk_vinodkumar

Hi,
Congratulations on getting your new car.
Happy motoring!

Can you please tell me your month of purchase and month of car manufacturing? I have just booked mine last week and I see that the one allotted was manufactured in May 2012.

Thanks Vinod, my car was manufactured in April 2012 and delivered in July 2012. Actually this depends on the colour also, someone has taken SBB (not very common colour) Emotion Multijet in July and the car was manufactured in June 2012.

Go for Phillips extreme power,Osrams have a blue tint,let us know the results once you upgrade.I just calculated few days back that replacing 6 stock bulbs with
Phillips extreme power will cost around 3.5-4K

The headlight of the Linea is OK overall low beam + high beam combined. But the low beam (H7) is very bad and practically one cannot see the road during the rains with the low beam alone. Moreover the distance of the focus for the low beam is also less, though the throw of the high beam is good and compensates the deficiency of the low beam.

I had to face a tough time driving with the low beam during the monsoon and was thinking of changing the headlights. I have replaced the low beam of the Linea with Osram NB+ couple of days back. The improvement over the stock bulb (was also Osram) is considerable. Cost incurred is Rs. 1100.00 for a pair of bulb.

I read your Linea ownership thread with great interest as I am myself in the market for a new car and am looking at the Linea very closely. I drive a Palio 1.6 right now and the car is a great handler and that's what I want in my next car too.

The only two cars that seem to fit the criterion are the Linea and the new Fiesta. I love both the cars but really need suggestions from real owners.

How has the ownership of your Linea been till date? Any rattles/niggles? Any other thing that you'd like to share ?

@Sharninder : I had considered the Ford Fiesta also, but the first deterrent was the price difference vis-a-vis Linea, it was 1L more. The Fiesta interior space was bit cramped compared to the Linea. With a wide torso I was not comfortable with the driver seat of the Fiesta plus I got all leather seat in the Linea.

With the 1L extra price you get additionally Auto folding RVM and cruise control while you miss out leather seats, rear AC vents, alloy wheels for the fifth tyre and rear cabin light. The voice control feature of the Fiesta felt useless for me because of the heavy american accent that it recognises.

The Fiesta has EPS and is nowhere near to the steering of the Linea and the clutch of the Fiesta is hard compared to the soft clutch of the Linea. The fiesta however jerks when the speed comes down in the third/fourth gear.

These are some of the points that I remember. I suggest you take a long TD of both the cars and decide for yourself.

Was thinking of going to the "Dongargarh" temple since purchasing the new car and Gandhiji's birthday gave me the oppurtunity to take my family to Dongargarh. The ditance was 80KM (oneway) all along NH6. Enjoyed half of the day there and came back home in the afternoon. Had the oppurtunity to click some pictures of the car there.

Congrats, Wish you many many years of long and happy journey with your 'White Knight'!

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sommos

Was thinking of going to the "Dongargarh" temple since purchasing the new car and Gandhiji's birthday gave me the oppurtunity to take my family to Dongargarh. The ditance was 80KM (oneway) all along NH6. Enjoyed half of the day there and came back home in the afternoon. Had the oppurtunity to click some pictures of the car there.

This puja vacation we were planning for a visit to my hometown at Durgapur, West Bengal. Plans were being made but my leave was uncertain, thereby putting a question mark on the journey itself. My mother and sister were being impatient as we could not confirm the dates till the last moment. The original plan to leave on 15/10/2012 had to be deferred as my leave was ultimately sanctioned from 19/10/2012 after much persuation. The whole itinerary had to be recast and we headed straight to Durgapur to enjoy the Durga Puja with my mother and sister's family at Durgapur.

I would like to convey my thanks to Samarjit Dhar, Sutriptada, Scuderiamania and Shabbir for their valuable information on the road conditions and alternate route suggestions.

The Linea had to undergo the First Free Service at 2530 KMs on 12/10/2012 instead of the usual 5000Km because of this journey. As per my estimate the odometer reading would be somewhere around 5700/5800 by the time I return back, so to keep the warranty valid the servicing had to be done prior to the journey.

Inspite of all my efforts, I could start the journey only at 6:15 AM on 19/10/2012. The road was smooth four-lane from Bhilai-Raipur-Arang, a distance of 75Km. From Arang to Patewa, Chhattisgarh (40Km) the road is single but good, but thereafter upto Singhora (and further upto the the CG-OR border) for about 110Km the road was in very bad condition. After crossing over to Orissa I took a small break for 15 minutes and my wife used this opportunity to arrange for an elephant ride for my son. Two elephants were standing in the middle of both the lanes at the border check post and extracting money from the truck drivers. My wife requested one of them for the elephant ride and they readily agreed, so my son had a great enjoyment in the middle of the NH.

From the border to Sambalpur the distance of around 92Km was not bad; four laning work is going on in this streach. After a little bit of manoeuvring within Sambalpur could locate the direction for NH42 to Cuttack. The 265Km to Manguli Chowk, NH5 was serpentine single road mainly through forest area and well maintained. Somewhere in between the forest area we took a half-an-hour to forty minutes break and enjoyed the home made lunch. In the way had to cross through Angul, where I filled the tank, and through Dhenkanal town, both of which were crowded. Actually I missed the Dhenkanal by-pass and crossed through the town, which was crowded with last minute shopping and all before the puja. Finally I reached Manguli Chowk at 6:30PM, thus covering 582Km in 12 hours.

Just after Manguli chowk I had to take a break for tea. Actually I was having a problem of misaligned headlamps. I was having a problem with the headlights right from the beginning and I got the headlamps alignment and focussing reset during the First service. But when I put on the headlights, the left one was focussing just in front of the car and the road ahead was in the dark. I took a break to see if the same can be fixed by some roadside mechanic, but in vain. I did not show any concern for this and continued with the journey but at a slower pace.

The journey from Manguli Chowk to Kolaghat (340KM) was smooth sailing on four-lane road, except for some culverts with broken surface. Crossed Jaleshwar at 10:00 PM without any hitch and took a break for dinner just before Kolaghat bridge. We had a long break for an hour and had a leisurely dinner and there itself we decided to cover the rest of the journey in a relaxed manner so that we can reach home in the early morning instead of disturbing everybody in the middle of their sleep.

We started at 01:15 from Kolaghat, filled the tank on the way and crossed the famous bridge without any hitch. Just when I thought that the road ahead would be tension free, I was caught in an ugly jam for about an hour or more. I went down to search for possible exit but soon realised that there was none for I was in the middle lane of a three lane formation and there was no sign of any movement from the trucks. The cleaner of the truck behind me informed me that there is a gap in the devider just ahead of us and I should exit from there to the right lane and continue. After some fifteen minutes the same person managed to make some way through the trucks for me to exit. I followed his advice hesitantly and drove through the wrong side for quite some distance before I could change over to the right side of the road. To my astonishment I later found that this is very normal between Kolaghat and Kolkata on NH6 and between Kolkata and Durgapur on NH2. At many times I found trucks, busses and private cars going through the wrong side of the road at full speed.

Crossed Panagarh in the wee hours of the morning without any problem. The road has been widened at Panagarh, though it is still single road. Finally reached home at 6:00 in the morning taking 23:24 hours to cover a distance of 1152Km.

Summos thats a really long and continues driving, Good to know that you have taken NH42 instead of NH6.

Bad to know that CG-OR border areas are not maintained till now.
Govt in CG doesnt give much importance to maintenance of highways, but I am glad that Raipur-Bhandara 4 laning is completed.

Yes, I know that it was a really long drive, but once I reached Kharagpur I thought it better to continue till Durgapur and rest there. Maybe the exitement is also to be blamed, but I didn't feel any strain.

I too was shocked to see the road condition for the last 100Km in Chhattisgarh. Actually I have travelled on this same route upto Attabira (30KM short of Sambalpur) in early June this year and the roads were not bad then.

It was after a gap of 10 years that I got the opportunity to spend the Durga Puja with my family (i.e. my family, mother and my sister's family) at my hometown, was obviously very exited and enjoyed the opportunity to the fullest. Met all my cousins and relatives, most of whom are settled at Durgapur. The children, led by my son, were eager to see the village life. So took time off and took everybody to our village nearby in Bankura district. Everybody enjoyed the half day outing and the traditional style of celebrating the durga puja in the village, met a few relatives after many many years. It did freshen up old memories specially for my mother and she was really glad. Overall really enjoyed the five days stay at Durgapur.

After the durga puja was over, departed for Bokaro, Jharkhand, on 25/10/2012. Durgapur to Bokaro is a distance of 152Km along NH2 upto Govindpur and NH32 through Dhanbad. The journey was smooth and without any happenings except that Dhanbad town was crowded as always and the roads in Jharkhand are not in good condition.

On 27/10/2012 went to Kolkata from Bokaro, a distance of 320KM through NH2. Crossing through Panagarh was again smooth in the afternoon and had our lunch at Ajad Hind dhaba. I had a little hesitation locating the roads after entering Kolkata and had to ask for direction on a couple of occassion. My wife’s sister stays in Kolkata and she took us to their ancestral house (palace) in Mahishadal, Paschim Mednipur near Haldia. I was shocked to see their ancestral palace and the antic furnitures and other things like the royal dining room, the billiards room etc.

I'm not able to upload the pictures in-between the texts, hence the list of the pics uploaded are as follows :

1. My son enjoying the elephant ride on NH6 (CG-OR border) while I take a rest.
2. Elephant ride.
3. The trucks coming from the opposite side on a four-lane highway (NH2) after Kolkata. Note the lights of the truck on the other side of the road, there was blockage on that side. This is quite common in this portion of the NH2.
4. The Durga puja is still celebrated in the traditional way in the village. While in the city it is very commercial with hoardings and Adv. boards all round the place and event management companies engaged to manage the show.
5. The "Phoolbagan palace" of the Mahishadal Raj. This is where we went to visit.
6. A Bengali film (Khoka Babu 420) was being shot at that location and we met a few Bengali filmstars. This vintage car was brought to the location for the film shooting. Later came to know courtesy IndrojitSircarthat is an Opel KAdett owned by Mr. Gautam Mukherjee in Kolkata.
7. Side profile of the car.
8. & 9. Copies of the "Sanad" confering the "Raja Bahadur" title by the British, that is on display at the palace.

Congratulations Sommos on completing the trip. I hope you've enjoyed quite a lot. One query though is that nowhere have you mentioned what was the efficiency you've got in the trip both way as well as the average fuel efficiency. Did you use the A/C anytime?? If yes how has it performed and any niggles or problems you've faced during this trip or something this trip has highlighted.